Credit and pass card identification device

ABSTRACT

The method of making comparative identification between the holder of identification means and a selected person of this invention includes the steps of recording a multiplicity of indicia upon a carrying media wherein each of the indicia are coincident with respective terminal ends of fingers extended of a hand of a preselected human being; placing the media into a holding apparatus; placing the extended fingers of a hand extended of the preselected human being in the holding apparatus, aligning the extended fingers of the preselected human being with respective indicia on the carrying media. The apparatus of this invention includes identification carrying media such as a card having prerecorded indicia thereon, each of the indicia on the media being coincident with the terminal ends of respective fingers of a hand extended of a preselected human being, a housing having means operable to engage and to hold the identification carrying media and means in the housing operable to align the terminal ends of fingers extended of a hand of the preselected human being with respective indicia on the identification carrying media.

United States Patent [191 Thurman 1M8l'6h 20, 1973 [54] CREDIT AND PASSCARD IDENTIFICATION DEVICE [76] Inventor: R. E. Thurman, 2216 CascadeWay,

Longview, Wash. 98632 22 Filedz Dec. 28, 1970 211 App]; No.: l01,895

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1971 Miller ..340/ 149 A2/1939 Davis ..33/2 R Primary Examiner-S. Clement Swisher Attorney.lohnW. Kraft [57 ABSTRACT The method of making comparative identificationbetween the holder of identification means and a selected person of thisinvention includes the steps of recording a multiplicity of indicia upona carrying media wherein each of the indicia are coincident withrespective terminal ends of fingers extended of a hand of a preselectedhuman being; placing the media into a holding apparatus; placing theextended fingers of a hand extended of the preselected human being inthe holding apparatus, aligning the extended fingers of the preselectedhuman being with respective indicia on the carrying media. The apparatusof this invention includes identification carrying media such as a cardhaving prerecorded indicia thereon, each of the indicia on the mediabeing coincident with the terminal ends of respective fingers of a handextended of a preselected human being, a housing having means operableto engage and to hold the identification carrying media and means in thehousing operable to align the terminal ends of fingers extended of ahand of the preselected human being with respective indicia on theidentification carrying media.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures mnzmwmzo I915 3.721.128

- SHEEIIUFZ R. E. THURMAN INVENTOR.

FIG. 3

R. E. THURMAN INVENTOR.

CREDIT AND PASS CARD IDENTIFICATION DEVICE FIELD OF INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to the method and apparatus for positivelycorrelating the identification of the holder of a credit oridentification card with the identification of a given human being, andmore particularly to the method and apparatus for prepunching holes orimprinting other indicia on an identification card coincident with thefinger tips of a human hand and apparatus operable to receive the card,said apparatus including means to cause alignment with prepunched holesor other indicia on the card with the fingertips of a human hand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Generally holders of credit andidentification cards are identified by making a visual comparisonbetween a signature appearing on the card and a signature written by theholder at the time of making comparative determinations between theholder and the card. Identification cards such as drivers licenses, passidentifications, and the like frequently include a photograph of thetrue owner on the card. Characteristically, such photographs are poorrepresentations of persons portrayed. More accurate means ofidentification commonly employed are finger prints. However, suchcomparisons usually require expertise and especial training in order tomake positive identification. Similarly, since signatures of anindividual may substantially vary each time it is written, only ahandwriting expert may accurately make comparisons.

It has been found that the correspondence and relationship of fingers ofa human hand are distinctive and unique as to each individual. That isto say the length and size of fingers of a hand may be used topositively identify an individual.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide thecombination means by which the correspondence and relationship of thefingers of a preselected person may be prerecorded with indicia on acard and means operable to make physical comparisons of the indicia withextended fingers of the hand.

Another object of this invention is to prerecord indicia upon anidentification card by placing a mu]- tiplicity of marks or holes in thecard coincident with the tips of fingers extended; placing the card intoa holder and to provide means in said holder operable to engage themarks or holes in response to movement of the means when the hand havingthe fingers fully extended is urged against said means.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensivemeans, simply constructed that is operable to make positive and accuratecomparisons between the holder of a card and an identification card foridentification purposes.

A more thorough and comprehensive understanding may be had from thedetailed description of the preferred embodiment when read in connectionwith the drawings forming a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of theapparatus of this invention operable to compare indicia prerecorded on acard with the correspondence and relationship of fingers of the hand ofthe holder thereof showing a prerecorded card exploded away from theclosure portion and the closure portion of the apparatus in an openposition.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of the present invention withthe intermediate wall of this invention removed to show the operatingmechanism of the embodiment herein later set out.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional elevational view of the apparatus of thisinvention taken substantially along the lines 3-3 of the FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawings and more particularly to the FIG. 1 the credit and pass cardidentification device of the present invention is generally designatedby the numeral 10. The card device 10 includes a box like housing 11having an intermediate wall 12 including a multiplicity of slots such asshown at 13, 14, 15, and 16, and a card holding closure 17 hingedlyconnected to one of the side walls of the housing 1 1 such as by hinge18 suitably fastened to the housing 11 and to the closure 17. It is tobe understood that the closure 17 may be suitably fixed to the sidewalls of the housing 11 without affecting the operation of the carddevice of this invention. However, it has been found in practice thatinsertion into and removal from the closure 17 of a credit or pass cardof this invention herein later described is greatly facilitated byhaving the closure hinged since the card is provided and is more easilygrasped from both sides. An operating mechanism 19 more clearly shown toadvantage in the FIG. 2 which is a plan view of the present inventionhaving the intermediate wall 12 removed and in the cross sectionalelevational view of the FIG. 3. Referring to the perspective view of theFIG. 1, finger indexing rods 20, 21, 22, and 23 of the operatingmechanism 19 are disposed between the intermediate wall 12 and thelowermost wall of the housing 11. Finger indexing rods 20, 21, 22, and23 are each provided with respective upstanding pins 24, 25, 26, and 27which extend through respective slots 13, I4, 15, and 16 of intermediatewall 12. The structural details of operating mechanism 19 shall hereinlater be more fully disclosed.

The closure 17 may be provided with card holding means such as springclamps 28 and 29 which are operable to receive and hold theidentificationcard of this invention generally identified by the numeral30 in the drawings. It has been found in practice that thecorrespondence and relationship of fingers of a human hand aredistinctive and differ substantially from each other among human beings.Therefore, individual human beings may be identified, one from another,by the correspondence and relationship of the fingers of the hand.Hence, by punching holes which are coincident with finger tips of ahuman hand into a card 30 such as holes 31, 32, 33, and 34 shown toadvantage in FIG. 1 exploded away from the closure 17, an individual maybe positively identified as an owner of that card. In order to correlateidentification between the holder of a given card and an individual, thecard of the present invention may be inserted between the springs 28 and29 and the body of the closure 17 and the closure 17 pivotally movedover the housing 11 and the intermediate wall 12. Thereafter, theextended fingers of a human hand may be placed at the terminal ends ofthe finger indexing rods 20, 21, 22, and 23 which may then be movedforwardly to align the upstanding pins 24, 25, 26, and 27 carried by therespective indexing rods and disposed in respective slots 13, 14, 15,and 16 of the intermediate wall 17 with respective holes in the card 30.That is to say that since the correlation and relationship of fingers ofeach human hand differ, positive identification of the owner of a cardmay be positively ascertained if the upstanding pins are caused to bealigned with respective prepunched holes in the card 30 in the mannerabove described. It has been found to advantage to provide an opening 35in the closure 17 through which alignment of the respective upstandingpins with holes in the card may be observed. However, it should beunderstood that complete closure of the closure member 17 on the housing11 may be observed when respective pins and holes are aligned whichtherefore makes opening 35 a matter of convenience rather than anessential element of the structure here disclosed. Similarly, a notch 36may be provided in the forwardmost portion of the closure 17 as aconvenient means for inserting or extracting the card 30 from theclosure 17.

Referring now more particularly to the FIG. 2 which shows to advantagethe construction details of operating mechanism 19. The mechanism 19comprises an open box-like framework 37 suitably fastened to the housing11 and a multiplicity of finger indexing rods 20, 21, 22, and 23 carriedby the framework 37, the rods being distally disposed in the framework37 and spaced apart in parallel relationship. Each of the rods areprovided with an upstanding pin suitably fastened to each respectiverod. It has been found to advantage to provide an inclined finger restportion at one of the respective terminal ends on each of the rodssubstantially as shown at 38, 39, 40, and 41. The inclined rest portiontends to cause fingernails to be positioned away from the operatingmechanism so as to avoid interference with the true operation of themechanism. A stop portion is provided at the opposite terminal end ofeach of the respective rods generally identified by the numerals 42, 43,44 and 45. The respective stop portions may comprise a nut threadablymounted to each of the rods or each of the terminal ends of the rods orthe respective terminal ends of the rods may be peened or bent overafter assembly in the framework 37 to provide a suitable stopping means.Intermediate stopping means 46, 47, 48, and 49 are distally disposed onthe respective rods 20, 21, 22, and 23 and suitably fastened thereto.Springs 50, 51, 52, and 53 are disposed on the respective rods betweenthe rearward most wall of the framework 37.

The cross sectional elevational view of the FIG. 3 shows to advantagethe manner by which the extended fingers of a human hand may cause eachof the respective rods to be moved rearwardly to align the respectiveupstanding pins carried by the rods with holes in a prepunched card asearlier described.

Having thus described in detail a preferred apparatus which embodies theconcepts and principles of the invention and which accomplishes thevarious objects, purposes and aims thereof, it is to be appreciated andwill be apparent to those skilled in the art, that many physical changescould be made in the apparatus without altering the inventive conceptsand principles embodied therein. For example, indicia other thanprepunched holes may be prerecorded upon a card or identifying means andmechanically equivalent mechanical, electro-mechanical or electronicmeans may be used and employed to compare and identify the hand of aperson with a preselected card. Hence, it is intended that the scope ofthe invention be limited only to the extent indicated in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for making comparative identification between aholder of an identification means and a selected person, the combinationof an identification carrying media means, said means including amultiplicity of indicia prerecorded thereon, each of said indicia beingspacially disposed on said media means coincident with respectiveterminal ends of extended fingers of a hand of a preselected humanbeing, a housing means including means operable to engage and to holdsaid media means in said housing, and means in said housing operable toalign the terminal ends of fingers extended of a hand of a preselectedhuman being with respective indicia on said identification carryingmedia means, said housing comprising a box-like frame, including abottom wall, a top wall, and three side walls, means in said top walloperable to engage and hold said identification carrying media means, anentranceway in said housing operable to receive extended fingers of ahand of a preselected human being, a wall intermediate said bottom walland said top wall, said intermediate wall including a multiplicity ofparallel slots distally disposed in said wall being spaced apart, saidaligning means comprising a framework suitably fastened to the bottomwall of said housing beneath said intermediate wall, a multiplicity ofoperating rods carried by' said framework engageable with respectivefingers extended of a hand of a preselected human being, said rods beingoperable to be moved rectilinearly in said framework in response tomovement of said hand being urged against said rods, each of said rodsincluding an upstanding pin distally disposed on said rods, said pinsextending through said slots in said intermediate wall and beingengageable with indicia on said identification carrying media means, astop means suitably fastened at one of the terminal ends of each of saidrods, a stopping means distally disposed on each of said rods, a springdisposed on each of said rods between said stopping means and one of thesides of said framework, said spring being operable to urge saidstopping means forwardly.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 including an upwardly inclined finger restmeans suitably fastened to each of said rods at the terminal endsopposite said stop means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 including hinge means pivotally connectingsaid top wall to a side wall of said housing.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 including an opening in said top wall ofsaid housing adjacent said holding means for said identificationcarrying media means;

said opening being operable to visually observe alignment of saidextended fingers with said respective indicia on said media means.

1. In an apparatus for making comparative identification between aholder of an identification means and a selected person, the combinationof an identificatioN carrying media means, said means including amultiplicity of indicia prerecorded thereon, each of said indicia beingspacially disposed on said media means coincident with respectiveterminal ends of extended fingers of a hand of a preselected humanbeing, a housing means including means operable to engage and to holdsaid media means in said housing, and means in said housing operable toalign the terminal ends of fingers extended of a hand of a preselectedhuman being with respective indicia on said identification carryingmedia means, said housing comprising a box-like frame, including abottom wall, a top wall, and three side walls, means in said top walloperable to engage and hold said identification carrying media means, anentranceway in said housing operable to receive extended fingers of ahand of a preselected human being, a wall intermediate said bottom walland said top wall, said intermediate wall including a multiplicity ofparallel slots distally disposed in said wall being spaced apart, saidaligning means comprising a framework suitably fastened to the bottomwall of said housing beneath said intermediate wall, a multiplicity ofoperating rods carried by said framework engageable with respectivefingers extended of a hand of a preselected human being, said rods beingoperable to be moved rectilinearly in said framework in response tomovement of said hand being urged against said rods, each of said rodsincluding an upstanding pin distally disposed on said rods, said pinsextending through said slots in said intermediate wall and beingengageable with indicia on said identification carrying media means, astop means suitably fastened at one of the terminal ends of each of saidrods, a stopping means distally disposed on each of said rods, a springdisposed on each of said rods between said stopping means and one of thesides of said framework, said spring being operable to urge saidstopping means forwardly.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 including anupwardly inclined finger rest means suitably fastened to each of saidrods at the terminal ends opposite said stop means.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1 including hinge means pivotally connecting said top wall to aside wall of said housing.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 including anopening in said top wall of said housing adjacent said holding means forsaid identification carrying media means; said opening being operable tovisually observe alignment of said extended fingers with said respectiveindicia on said media means.